WFH: Vikes hoist first McCrae Cup since 2008 in two-game sweep over York

The University of Victoria Vikes women’s field hockey team hoisted the McCrae Cup for the first time since 2008 after a 3-1 win over hosts York in Game 2 of the U SPORTS National Championships. The Nov. 2 victory sealed the program’s first national banner since 2008.

“We had a reunion with the 2008 team earlier this year and the one thing they passed onto us was it’s not necessarily about the winning, it’s about the friendships you develop,” said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft after the game. “This group will live together forever. They’ve got along so well all year and we played a good team game in both games here. Everybody did their part, I can’t single out one player who stood out from our team because they all played great.”

The game was intense from the beginning as both teams seemed desperate to get off to a good start. The Lions had the first scoring chance after U SPORTS All-Canadian Jaslan Stirling broke in front of the Vikes net and was fouled inside the circle. An ensuing penalty corner was defended well by the Vikes defence though, as they shut down the Lions attack and cleared the ball quickly away from keeper Robin Fleming’s net.

The Vikes went on the offensive for the next several minutes, as they kept the Lions pinned deep in their own end for the better part of the next 10 minutes. The Lions defenders held strong though, with fifth-year veteran Sara Vollmerhausen making a number of excellent defensive plays to keep the game scoreless.

Victoria opened the scoring at 14th minute when Cole picked up the ball after a broken down penalty corner. The Mount Douglas Secondary grad moved the ball to her reverse and with a diving effort beat York keeper Alycia Gray for a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute later first-year Vike Sajko doubled her team’s lead by getting the last touch on a ball sent in to the far post and the Vikes enjoyed the 2-0 lead heading into half time.

After some sustained pressure in the Lions’ end to begin the second half, Victoria made it 3-0 on a goal by Butler. The Vikes were buzzing around Gray with a number of chances before Butler found the back of net.

The remainder of the second half was played mostly in the middle of the field until Lions defender Sydney McFaul added a late goal for the host team with less than a minute left but it was not enough as the Vikes prevailed 3-1. Victoria outshot York 11-5 in the final contest of the season for both teams and dictated the field position for the majority of the game.

The victory for the Vikes was their 12th U SPORTS championship in program history and marks the eighth year in a row the trophy has been won by a team from the Canada West conference. The UBC Thunderbirds had won seven nationals titles in a row before this season.

The Lions fall in the national final for the second year in a row but the future looks bright for the back-to-back OUA champions, with only two graduating players and a young roster on the upswing, the team looks to be contenders for the national title for several years to come.

The Vikes’ Emily Wong was named tournament MVP as well as Player of the Game in the championship win. McFaul was named Player of the Game for the Lions, while her teammate Sara Vollmerhausen was awarded the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.

Christopher Kelsall is a co-founder of Victoria Sports News. He is also the owner of Athletics Illustrated, a website all about the sport of running and track and field that has a global audience.
Played over a dozen sports, run coach, soccer coach and family man.

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